Director Profiles

SHOOT’s spring ensemble of up-and-coming directors includes a pair of duos—one which recently scored a major coup at the Sundance Film Festival; the other creating and helming spec fare that’s opened assorted industry doors. Also in the mix is a solo filmmaker whose branded documentary fare and...

The greatest comeback in Super Bowl history came with this year’s tale of two games within one—the first dominated at the outset by the Atlanta Falcons, the second taken over by the eventual winner, the New England Patriots. In what shaped up as a parallel universe, the accompanying crop of Super...

As a director, Reed Morano made a major initial splash in indie filmmaking and then commercials—both in poignant vehicles starring Olivia Wilde, starting with Meadowland (2015) which earned nominations for Best Narrative Feature at the Tribeca Film Festival, Best Directorial Debut at Camerimage,...

James Mangold is not a fan of superhero movies and it’s that deep-rooted feeling coupled with contrarian sensibilities that resulted in his directing the groundbreaking Logan (20th Century Fox), bringing character-driven drama to a genre that’s otherwise typically the antithesis of adult-appeal,...

A live commercial gone awry on the Super Bowl is the latest Big Game chapter for Snickers’ advertising out of BBDO New York. Starring Adam Driver, the cowboy western-themed spot is fraught with miscues and mistakes—but intentionally so to show that like most of us, Driver, his colleagues and the...

Marc Forster is no stranger to the Academy Awards, having directed Halle Berry’s Best Leading Actress Oscar-winning performance in Monster’s Ball (2001). Fast forward to last month and Forster made his imprint on the Oscar telecast in an entirely different way, directing "Lost & Found," a...

Quipping that he could shoot cars until he’s "ready for the coffin," director Henrik Hansen of RSA Films is known for his far reaching visual sensibilities, marked by innovative use of light to capture riveting action—often further enhanced by compelling characters who put viewers into the throes...

What started out as a livelihood has become a lively art for Derek Cianfrance as underscored by his recent DGA Award win for Outstanding Achievement in Commercials. Cianfrance, who’s with RadicalMedia, earned the Directors Guild honor on the strength of four entries: Nike Golf’s "Chase"; Powerade’s...

From the horrifically inhumane can sometimes spring the best that humanity has to offer. Such decency and heroism are captured in director Niki Caro’s The Zookeeper’s Wife which tells the real-life story of the former director of the Warsaw Zoo, Dr. Jan Zabinski (portrayed by Johan Heldenbergh),...

Welcome to the Special Spring 2017 Edition of SHOOT’s Directors Series. Our mix of profiles includes: James Mangold who made a superhero film, Logan, that has broken all the conventions of that genre; Niki Caro who directed the soon-to-be-released The Zookeeper’s Wife based on the best-selling book...